India condemns attacks on Saudi airports after Riyadh strike kills 12

India on Sunday condemned repeated attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, a day after a strike there killed 12 people and injured 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). It was the third attack on the airport in a week and the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

No Indian was among the dead. Four of those killed were Saudi citizens. The eight foreigners were two Bangladeshis and one person each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.

What India said

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed solidarity with the people and government of Saudi Arabia “in defence of their sovereignty”, offered condolences to the families of the dead and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

The repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately.

It was the ministry’s second statement in four days. On 8 October it condemned attacks on Abha International Airport and King Khalid airport, saying: “The targeting of civilian infrastructure is completely unacceptable.”

Advice for Indians in the kingdom

The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said on 8 October that “all Indian nationals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are advised to remain alert and vigilant”. It asked them to “stay indoors as necessary, and follow the instructions issued by local authorities through official channels”, and to refrain from circulating videos or news about the attacks.

The Embassy, the Consulate in Jeddah and their VFS centres are working normally. The 24x7 Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra can be reached on the toll-free number 8002471234. The government has told Parliament that 27,47,551 Indian nationals lived in Saudi Arabia as of 24 February 2025.

The Riyadh attacks and India

• 12killed in the 10 October attack on Riyadh's airport; none Indian
• 309injured in the same attack
• 27.5 lakhIndian nationals in Saudi Arabia, as of February 2025
• 23weekly Air India and Air India Express flights to Riyadh, cancelled until 10 October

Flights from India

Air India and Air India Express cancelled flights to and from Riyadh until 10 October. Air India Express runs 16 weekly Riyadh flights from Bengaluru, Kochi, Kannur and Kozhikode, and Air India seven from Delhi and Mumbai. Air India’s Delhi-Riyadh flight AI2243 turned back to Delhi on 8 October. Akasa Air cancelled its Kochi-Riyadh service, citing the “evolving security situation”.

Air India Express is offering free rescheduling or a full refund. After Saturday’s attack, GACA suspended operations at the Riyadh airport for safety checks and gave no date for a restart.

How the attacks escalated

GACA said attacks on Abha and Riyadh airports on 6 and 7 October killed three people and injured 36. The Houthis said they fired a ballistic missile at the Riyadh airport on 8 October. GACA said a Saudia pilot, Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, and two other Saudi citizens were killed. The Houthis said the strikes were retaliation for Saudi attacks on the airports in Sanaa and Hodeidah.

The Houthis have not claimed Saturday’s attack. On Sunday they renewed their warning in a post on X: “We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace.” They excluded Mecca and Medina.

The Houthis began their campaign against Saudi Arabia this summer, after a 2022 ceasefire between the two broke down, and Saudi Arabia has stepped up military action in Yemen in recent weeks. Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s government asked the UN Security Council to act on 9 October. Asked if the US might join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, President Donald Trump said on Saturday: “We may. We’re going to look at it.”

Pakistan has said it has a substantial force in Riyadh, and Pakistan and Türkiye have agreed to deploy troops under a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia.